SAN LUIS, AZ — The police chief of a city on Arizona’s border with Mexico said he is worried about the cost of enforcing a proposed ballot measure that would make illegally crossing the border a state crime.
House Concurrent Resolution 2060 passed the Arizona Senate on a party-line vote Wednesday. If it passes the state House, voters will see the measure on their November ballot.
If approved by voters, it would make it a state crime to cross the Arizona-Mexico border outside of official ports of entry. That would allow local law enforcement agencies such as the San Luis Police Department to make arrests and local judges to order those convicted to leave the country.
“If the law will come into effect, it will create a huge burden on our agency, because we don't have the staffing to support that law,” San Luis Police Chief Nigel Reynoso said.
He said his department already does not have enough resources.
“We have three officers per shift who are responsible for the entire city, so that's not enough,” he said.
First responders in San Luis told ABC15 earlier this year about how their agencies are underfunded.
Reynoso’s officers already stop people if they see them illegally crossing the border.
Under HCR 2060, they would need to process those arrests and investigate the cases locally instead of calling Border Patrol, like they do now.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said he also needs more resources.
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“I need a lot of things,” he told ABC15 on Thursday. “What I don't need is, I don't need the state Senate telling me what I need.”
The Arizona Sheriffs Association helped write the proposed ballot measure. Association President and Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes said the group supports “any reasonable measure” that helps secure the border.
He told ABC15 on Thursday that he agrees local law enforcement needs more funding – especially if HCR 2060 becomes law.
“If this is put on the ballot, and if the majority passes this bill, then the elected leaders at the state need to prioritize funding for law enforcement to have any impact whatsoever,” Rhodes said. “Without funding, the ability of the sheriffs to have really any impact is going to be greatly diminished.”
Reynoso, who spoke at a news conference organized by opponents of HCR 2060 on Wednesday before the Senate vote, said more staffing money for federal agencies along the border is preferable to more laws that already-strapped local agencies would have to enforce.
The version of HCR 2060 passed by the Senate includes two significant changes to the measure. It now specifies that law enforcement must have probable cause – such as witnessing a crossing or having video evidence – to make an arrest. And the border crossing provision will not apply to anyone who crossed the border without authorization before the law takes effect.
The proposal was introduced on May 8 as a strike-everything amendment to a proposed ballot measure to greatly expand the use of E-Verify in Arizona.
In addition to making illegal border crossings a state offense, the amended HCR 2060 includes provisions making it a crime to submit false paperwork to a state and local agency when applying for public benefits or to an employer and strengthening the penalty for fentanyl sales in cases where someone has died.
Backers of the proposed ballot measure say it is a border enforcement measure that won’t be enforced statewide. Opponents say the amended HCR 2060 that passed the Senate does not include any geographic restrictions.
Critics have compared the proposed ballot measure to SB 1070, commonly known as the “Show Me Your Papers" law. Much of the 2010 Arizona law was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court because it conflicted with federal law.
